The Autumn Effect
by The Goddess of Night
Summary: Forget everything you know. What if Edward hadn't made it through the first day he met Bella? Wickedly twisted. The beginning of the end is here. Chapter 3 up!
1. The Beginning of the End

Disclaimer: I don't own the characters, plot, setting, etc... belonging to Stephenie Meyer. I just like tweaking them.

Author's Note: Have fun.

* * *

**The Autumn Effect**

Chapter 1  
The Beginning of the End

.;-'-;.

The most intoxicating smell hit his nose as the new girl walked into the cafeteria. It wasn't the soft, soothing scent he had experienced throughout the day. It was stronger, much stronger, now that it was in the same room as him. He inhaled, burning his nose, but it was too heavenly. The sensation of alcohol burning down his throat began, just as a low growl sounded deep in his chest. She was standing in the lunch line. His eyes could focus only on her. He could smell her every inch, see her veins pulsing just under the skin, could almost feel her fast beating heart under his hands. Every part of her called to him. _Shit_, he thought.

"Edward."

His name snapped him back into reality. He looked over at his sister, Alice.

"Edward, what's wrong?" Alice was worried.

"What do you mean 'what's wrong'? I'm perfectly fine," he replied, moody that his trance was broken, upset that his sister had noticed his tension.

"You're lying." Edward turned to her, glaring. "Fine. Whatever." His other siblings went back to their other conversations; Alice wasn't quite ready.

_Edward_, she thought. He closed his eyes to a slit to send the message to leave him alone.

_Edward please, just listen._ He nods his head in understanding. He didn't want to listen to her, but if he wanted to get back to the new girl, he'd have to get rid of Alice.

_What's wrong? You're acting different. _Edward didn't understand. He raised his eyebrow just the slightest to show his confusion.

_Your body is tense. You growled earlier._

"So what?" He whispered so fast to not let anyone else hear. "I'm having a bad day." He was hoping this lie would work. Alice looked at him disappointedly before turning her attention back to Jasper.

_Your eyes are black._

_Oh no_, he thought to himself. Something wasn't right. He just fed a few days ago. He shouldn't have gotten hungry for another week or so. He looked back up to the new girl. Isabella. Bella. He'd never been so glued to a human. Something must not have been right.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

Bella had just sat down with the girl called Jessica. She didn't notice what she bought for food. She wasn't that hungry, she was too nervous.

"So Bella, what was it like in Phoenix?" Mike asked with a smile.

Bella laughed inwardly. "Phoenix was warm… and sunny, the complete opposite of here." Jessica started giggling, along with Angela. Mike smiled wider.

"Forks isn't all that bad. You make it seem horrid," Lauren replied bitterly. Bella turned to look at her, not understanding.

"No. I didn't mean that. Forks is great," she paused, lowering her voice, "if you like rain, green, and more rain." The table started laughing again, all except Lauren. She scoffed and turned her attention to the gossip magazine in her hand.

Bella went off into her mind as the table started discussing the new school year, the upcoming dance, and other such trivial things. Well, Bella considered them trivial. _What a waste of time_, were her thoughts. As she was taking in the entire cafeteria, her eyes froze on one specific table. _Am I hallucinating? Is that possible?_ They were all too beautiful to bear. She wanted to look away, hide herself, but she couldn't stop staring. _How can they be so beautiful and human?_

"Bella?" Jessica was waving her hand in front of the new girl's face. Bella was startled out of her daydream.

"Huh? Oh sorry. What were you saying?"

Jessica smiled coyly. "What are you ogling at?"

Bella blushed before she replied, "Nothing." Jessica followed Bella's line of sight and laughed at where it ended.

"The Cullen's and Hale's?" Bella was confused. Jessica helped by pointing towards their table.

Bella mouthed an "o" and blushed again.

"Don't even think about it sweetie. It'll just be a waste of time. Jasper and Emmett are already taken, and Edward…" she paused, seemingly lost in her own reveries, "well, he doesn't date any girls here, at least he hasn't yet." Jessica said the last part icily.

Bella couldn't help but blush. Edward had been exactly the boy she was looking at. It was easy to see that the other two were taken; they were sitting and holding hands with females. Edward was the only boy sitting with distance between the other four, if boy is what you could call him. His skin was pale, like ivory; smooth like the best made marble, with a hint of silk, the way it glowed in the cafeteria lighting. His hair was auburn brown, with mixed highlights of blonde and gold; perfectly layered and placed on his head in a way to make it look purposely disheveled. His dark gray shirt was nicely fit on his arms and torso, pronouncing the dimension of his lean muscles. And his face… his face was hard to describe for Bella. His eyes were downcast, staring at his fists on the table; strands of hair trying to hide them. The eyes led down to his straight nose; then his thin, sad lips; his chin, precisely chiseled; his jaw, strong and hard, angled. Flawless. She wondered what it would feel like to touch him.

She was wrapped up in her description of him when his head flew up and looked her straight in the eye.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

_Hands. Focus on your hands._ It was so, so very difficult not to look up at her. He realized what was happening now. Her blood, her blood was tempting him. He was craving it, every drop of it. It didn't help that she was absolutely beautiful. The way her face lit up when she smiled, or the way her hair fell over her shoulder, the way she fiddled with her hands when she was nervous. _Stop. Focus. Hands._ His hands were latched onto the edge of the table, the tops of his knuckles snow white from the pressure of the grip. The way her nose crinkled up when she was confused. He could see all these images of her from the day through the other students around her. _Just one look. Just one._ He told himself one would help to settle him. He looked up, hoping for just a quick glance. He didn't know she was already staring at him. And…

…And he couldn't look away, again. He was stuck. She had him stuck. He tried reading her mind to find something, anything, about her. It came up blank. Edward started getting angry. _Why can't I read her mind?_ His eyes grew darker and Bella was surprised. She blushed and flung her hair over her right shoulder, looking to her left to talk with Jessica again. With that came a rush of her scent. It was overwhelming. He could feel the venom leaking off of his teeth, urging him to feast. _No! Stop!_ His body was in pain. He wanted it, he needed it. He had to have it. Edward turned away, shutting his eyes, and squeezing the upper bridge of his nose. _No. You can't. Think of how hard you've worked to get to this point. You don't drink them. You don't. Think of Carlisle._ His mind held onto the idea of Carlisle. Edward looked up to him. He didn't want to disappoint his father.

He stole another glance at the being who was threatening his way of life. She was conversing with Jessica. All of a sudden her head bent back, revealing all of her throat, her veins, the blood pulsing, and the sound of her laugh echoed through his head. The way her chest bounced in tune with her hard breathing from the laughing; he could hear it, her heart beat, the blood being brought in, and pumped back out, circulating through her body. _I bet she tastes better than she smells_, he thought. He glared before looking away, bringing his hands up to rub his temples. _What is wrong with me?_

He couldn't stand it anymore. He stood up and quickly left the cafeteria, opting for some fresh air outside, away from the girl.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

"Yeah, that teacher Molesky is so weird. I mean, think about it. If you say her last name fast it sounds like 'molest me' and that," Mike paused a second for emphasis, "is just nasty." The table went into another round of laughter. Bella couldn't hold it in this time. It was so mean, but too funny. Her voice traveled from her chest and erupted out of her throat. She threw her head back in joy. _Maybe Forks isn't that bad after all_. When she brought her face back down she caught the sight of Edward from the corner of her eye, glaring. She jutted her head to see him better, see what was receiving his anger. It was her. Her smile faded into a frown as she dropped her gaze. What had she done wrong? She never insulted him. _Does he freak out like that if he sees someone looking at him? How rude_. Bella thought he was acting very much the jerk, but that didn't take away from his beauty, not at all.

She looked once more, just to see if she had misinterpreted. No. She hadn't. He had stood up and was already leaving the cafeteria. Bella decided to put it in the back of her mind for another time. She convinced herself she should enjoy her lunch, and she did.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

Edward was pacing. That's what he always did when he couldn't think straight; when he needed to think straight, to organize the mess of his thoughts. How could one girl, one stupid, simple, petty girl do this to him? confuse him? ruin everything that he's worked for? One more breath of her could destroy the best of him. _No_, he told himself, _you will not cave in. You can take this. It's just a girl. You only have another two classes left and you can leave. You can convince Carlisle to let you head up to Alaska for a bit. You'll be fine. Control yourself._ His little pep talk was starting to work, or so he thought.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

Her schedule read that Biology was next. _Well_, she thought, _it can't get any worse than lunch was_. As she exited the cafeteria, she noticed the skies had begun to rain. She was grateful for the covering over the walkway. She didn't like getting soaked. Sprinkles were okay, but not a downpour, which is exactly what this was. She frowned, though. She remembered hearing it was supposed to be sunny this afternoon. _What a bummer. Maybe it'll clear up later_.

"Hey Bella! Wait up!" Mike shouted from behind. Bella stopped walking and turned, waiting for Mike to catch up. "Hey. You have Bio, right?"

"M-hm," she mumbled in agreement. He smiled.

"Good. Me too. I'll help you get there."

Bella smiled in return, "Thanks."

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

Edward kept telling the demon inside him to settle. It wouldn't be long before he could leave. He was praying that Bella would be on the far side of the building. The less intensity of her, the better. He closed his eyes, taking a deep breath to slow his thoughts. With it came her scent. _No._ It was strong, incredibly strong. She was walking this way, he could hear her steady breathing. He opened his eyes, rushing through his thoughts to find a way to get out of this situation. It was too late. He saw her standing in the doorway, staring at him, intimidated.

Bella walked to the front desk, asking the teacher to sign her slip of paper. He did. "Class, if you haven't already heard, this is our new student, Isabella Swan."

"It's Bella," she said quietly.

"Oh. Okay, Bella. You can sit, um," he paused, looking about the classroom for an empty seat, "right next to Edward." Edward froze. This couldn't be happening; his own personal hell. He knew it, God was punishing him. God was letting him know that he was going to suffer for what he was… a monster.

Bella looked mortified as she slowly made her way towards Edward's double desk. She kept mumbling under her breath, "Don't trip…don't trip…" He smiled at this. Not only did she look fragile, she actually was. He observed her movement. He was intrigued, to say the least. Her clumsy progress down the aisle was almost graceful, like a façade of ungainliness, but full of elegance. _How odd_.

Edward held his breath as she took her seat next to him.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

Bella held her breath as she lowered herself into the seat to the left of Edward. She slowly exhaled, trying to calm her rapid heartbeat. It was pounding in her ears. _How is he going to act now?_ She was uneasy, but she convinced herself to start introductions.

"Hi. I'm Bella. Well, obviously, I'm sure you already knew that…" she babbled.

Edward interrupted her before she finished, "I know," he said in a deep voice.

She was taken back by his mood. "Listen, I don't remember ever doing anything to you," she continued, a bit angered by his attitude. Her mind went blank when he turned his face to her and she saw his eyes. They were dark, but had a hint of butterscotch in them. They were endless pits of beauty. She didn't stop staring until he spoke.

"You're right," he said, putting on a hint of a smile, "you didn't do anything wrong. I'm just having a bad day. I'm Edward Cullen, but I'm sure _you_ already knew that since the teacher pointed me out." Bella had to control herself from shutting her eyes and falling asleep. Her mind was slipping away, but her nerves were on end. The closeness of him was… she couldn't quite put her finger on it. Exciting. Alluring. God, she didn't even know him! But his voice, liquid silk on fire encompassing her entire body, was too amazing. It in itself was a lullaby, not caring about meters, or rhyming, just images. That's what his voice did for her. It created images in her head.

"Bella?" She snapped back. "Are you alright?" Edward asked.

"Yeah, yeah. Yeah, I'm fine," she tried to speak calmly, but it came out shaken. She laughed out loud to get rid of her tension, quickly patting his arm, "Of course I'm fine." She smiled wide, hoping that he would smile back. He did, but it wasn't right. It was forced.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

_Dear God, please let me make it through this class. Please_, he begged, _please_. She had touched him. The feel of her skin, her pulsing blood on top of his was unbelievable. It was a lightning storm in a bottled second. It was exhilarating. His teeth were oozing venom again. His nostrils were on fire, with the scent of her so strong. He was in physical and mental turmoil. How could he last 45 minutes of this?

Edward grabbed a hold of his pencil after attempting to smile back. He was relieved and upset when she focused on her notebook. He took another deep breath. His body shivered in delight. She smelled so good. She would taste so good. The pencil snapped in half. _No. She wouldn't taste good. Stop it. Focus._ But the demon knew he was lying. He looked over at Bella while she was taking down notes. He glanced up and down her body, seeing and hearing the most easily accessible points of blood; her ankles, small and porcelain; the inside of her thighs, pulsing with warm, thick blood; her wrists; and last, her neck. Oh, her neck, exquisitely shaped, perfect for the release of blood, veins just under the skin, mere inches from where he sat.

And that is the exact moment the demon was unleashed.

* * *

Author's Note: Mwahaha. I'm evil. You may hate me for how I changed the story. But you don't know what happens after the last line, or do you? You may like it, you may not. Review, and let me know! 

Sincerely,  
Melantha Nyx 


	2. Fault Line

Dsclaiamier: Ocne aiagn, I dno't own atynhnig by Stipheene Myeer.

Author's Note: Oh my! I'm so excited about the reviews from the first chapter. Thanks so much. Keep up with the reviews. I'll update faster. As I promised, it's Sunday night, 11:51 pm to be exact, and I'm updating. Have fun!

* * *

**The Autumn Effect**

Chapter 2  
Fault Line

.;-'-;.

Bella found it extremely hard not to glance over at the gorgeous boy sitting next to her. He didn't seem real. But he was; she could feel him gazing at her. This made her blush almost the entire class. It was even hard to focus on taking down the notes from the board.

Her body tensed and jumped when the bell rang out from nowhere. She quickly gathered her things together, praying that gym class wouldn't be too painful. That's when he spoke again.

"Bella, I was wondering…" he stopped, waiting to see if she was listening.

"You were wondering…?" She questioned back.

"I don't mean to be forward, but what are you doing after school?" He smiled like a shy boy. She was happily surprised. Butterflies fluttered hyperactively in her stomach.

"Um, nothing really. Why?"

"Oh, I was just wondering if maybe you'd like to hang out, maybe go for a walk, to get to know each other," he smiled warmly. _Well, he seems genuine_, she concluded.

"Sure. I'll just have to call my dad at work and let him know where I am."

"Great. I'll see you later then."

"Yeah," she waved goodbye as he left the room. She remained, standing in complete confusion, in complete bliss. What was it about this boy that was driving her nuts? It couldn't have been just his beauty, she wasn't that vain. She kept thinking on it, but couldn't figure anything out. Mike, as previously acted, interrupted her daydream.

"Hey. You told me that you had gym as last period. So do I. Can I walk you?"

"Yeah, why not," Bella replied, utterly distracted.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

_Edward. Edward, you can't do this. Stop it. You need to stop. Go home._ Edward continued his hardest to reason with his instincts. It was to no avail. He was losing. No, he wasn't. He had already lost. The second he saw her, the second he smelled her, she was doomed. He had already planned how and where he was going to kill her, drain her, taste her sweetly enticing blood.

_Edward?_ Alice thought. _Edward, if you're listening, I was just wondering how you're doing. Are you better? I'm sure you are. I'm just nervous about something I saw. And Jasper said at lunch that you were throwing off some disturbing emotions, like hunger?_ Alice said nervously. _Are you sure you're okay? What am I thinking! Of course you're okay. You're Edward. _She began laughing in her mind, but not fully sure of herself.

Then he remembered. Alice would see his decision. He would have to stop thinking about it. He would have to make it a spur of the moment. So he started thinking about music. And what else, his piano.

He heard Alice laughing, calm this time. _I was stupid. Sorry Edward. I shouldn't have doubted you._ She laughed again before he stopped listening.

Bella was doomed.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

Bella entered the locker room, astonished that she wasn't injured, nor anyone else from the gym period. She was proud of herself, that was positive. As she was changing, Jessica moved closer.

"Bella, we were wondering what you were planning on after school," she stated, nodding her head in the direction of Angela. That would explain the 'we'.

Bella smiled before answering, "I'm going for a walk with Edward." She flushed immediately as she said his name. Jessica acquired a look of disappointed amazement. She quickly erased it, replacing it with a flirty smile.

"Well then, good for you."

"Hey! What's that supposed to mean?" Bella questioned, confused by the hidden message in Jessica's words.

Jessica laughed with her reply. "Nothing, nothing. Have fun on your walk."

Bella smiled to herself while pulling her jeans over her bottom, and slipping on her loose ballet flats.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

Edward was repeating in his mind that he was only going to bring her for a walk, and then he would bring her home. He produced the image in his mind, the one of Bella entering her house safe and sound, for better consolation to his sister who would surely be keeping an eye out on his near future. He sent Alice a text telling her and Jasper to get a ride with Rosalie, that he was just going to spend some alone time. Alice agreed. He knew otherwise.

Bella's smell filled his body as he waited for her to finish getting dressed. He caught glimpses of her body from Jessica's mind. He shivered again, squeezing his hands to calm himself.

Finally, the human emerged from the double doors, smiling once she caught him looking in her direction. Edward laughed as he saw her stumble twice on her way to him. Bella was blushing and he could feel the heat radiating from her skin. He smiled, wickedly.

"How was gym?" He asked, trying to sound sincere, as they started walking through the parking lot.

She smiled to herself. "Well, at least no one got hurt," she mumbled. Edward chuckled. "So, where are going for the walk and how are we getting there?"

"Well, you have two choices: I know an amazing path through the forest just a few miles away from your house. Or," he sighed, "we could go to the boring old park."

"I vote on the path, but how do you know where I live?" She was a bit tense.

He laughed heartily, "I'm not a stalker. I just figured you live with you Dad, the Chief of Police. You do, right?"

Bella sighed in relief. "Yeah, I do. How are we getting there? I'd love to offer my vehicle, but as you can see," she kicked her truck with her foot, creating a loud, noisy **clank**, "this baby's not doing too hot." _Perfect_, Edward thought.

"That's fine. We can take my car. Besides, I'm sure your truck doesn't go that fast."

Bella was quiet for a second before she started, "Why does it have to go fast?"

Edward's eyes shone mischievously, "I like fast."

"Oh."

He took out his keychain, clicking the button to unlock the car doors. He stopped walking when he realized that the girl wasn't next to him. "Bella?" He turned around to see her gawking at the car in front of them.

"This is your car?" She sounded bewildered.

"Yes. Do you have a problem with it?" He said, a bit sarcastic, with a smile.

She laughed, "No. It's just, really nice."

He continued after they were both buckled in the car, "And it's really fast."

Edward pulled out of the parking lot, sprinting up to 86 miles per hour after hitting the back-road. "I can see that," she shuddered queasily.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

"You know, you don't seem as bad as you did at lunch." Bella said, as they were slowly making their trek up the pathway in the woods. Edward frowned.

"You have no idea…" he whispered.

Bella didn't quite hear him, but shook her head. "So, what was wrong?"

"What do you mean?"

"At lunch, what was wrong?" Bella was honestly curious.

"Oh right. You see," he started, smiling as he realized that they were far enough into the trees that he could start his plan, "I caught a whiff of something that smelled so marvelously delicious, I decided I had to have it. But the problem is," he turned to look at her intensely.

"The problem is?" She wanted to hear the rest of it.

"The problem is, my family would've been disappointed if they found out. So, I threw them off my trail, and now," he said, inching his way closer to the girl, "I get to have it."

Bella smiled, confused, and somewhat edgy. "Haha. Okay, what smelled so good?"

Edward's friendly façade dissipated, the real monster appearing. "You," his eyes glistened with danger. Bella laughed, just a little uneasy.

"What do you mean? Is it my shampoo? It's strawberries. If you like it so much, you can buy it at the store."

Her obliviousness to the imminent danger of the situation made Edward bellow out in laughter. Bella joined him, thinking that he was just playing around. She silenced when she saw that Edward was in front of her face, all amusement gone, hunger crawling in his eyes.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

Something wasn't right. She could see it, she could feel it, tingling her skin, she could sense it. Something was very, very wrong here. Edward moved closer still. She started shivering as his face leaned in forward.

"What are you doing?" She barely got out. He was sniffing her hair, her face, her neck. She was scared. He had already backed her up against a tree, locking her into place.

"You smell even better up close…" he rumbled, his chest growling.

"Um. Okay. Well, thanks. Can we go now? I… I have to get… get home…" her voice was shaking. He sniggered in reply.

"You think you're going home, do you?" Her eyes went wide. "If so, then you are seriously mistaken," he ended, with that wicked smile that only surfaced when the monster was ready to feast.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

_Edward! Edward, stop! You know you don't want to do this!_

The monster laughed inwardly, _Of course I do. She smells delicious_.

_Edward, you can stop yourself. Just walk away. Think of Carlisle! Think of this girl! She has a life to live. She has a family…_ Edward stepped back and turned away. How could he do this to her? She was innocent. She had family, a full life ahead of her.

"I'm… I'm sorry. I don't know what came over me," Edward managed to stumble out.

Bella breathed deeply, and then laughed heartily. "That was good! I thought were serious for a moment there. My gosh. My heart was beating so hard. I thought you were going to kill me or something! Ha!" She quickly caught up to Edward and brushed passed him. She stopped, and turned her head around, revealing her luscious throat, warm blood. "I'll race you back!"

Edward could feel it. He couldn't gain his control back. Reason was gone. Instinct was leading.

Bella took off running, not knowing she was running for her life.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

Bella was relieved, incredibly so, when she realized Edward was just messing with her. He was a very good actor. Maybe some chase would lighten the mood. _Maybe he's not as fast as he looks_, she thought as she took off running. _If I'm lucky, I'll make it back without tripping_.

Bella was laughing after a minute went by and Edward still hadn't caught up. She stopped, abruptly, concerned. She looked behind her, but Edward was nowhere in sight. "Edward?" She called out tentatively. "Edward?" She spoke louder. She twisted back the way she was heading only to hear herself scream in shock. Edward was right in front of her. "Jeez, Edward, give me a heart attack, why don't you…"

Bella's heart started thumping faster when she saw that funny look on Edward's face again. "Edward, are you alright?"

"No, I'm not," he spoke darkly, opening his mouth to show his rigid teeth seeping venom, glistening in the little bit of light filtering through the tree tops. His eyes turned pitch black. "I'm hungry," he growled.

Bella had had enough. She definitely knew something was wrong. "What's… What's wrong with your teeth? Edward, what's going on?" Worry consumed her voice. She automatically began backing up as Edward took slow, threatening steps towards her.

She screamed again as he leapt forward and snapped at her, barely missing her arm.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

Edward just wanted a lick, an appetizer taste of her flesh. He wasn't going to do this fast, no, he was going to have fun. She continued screaming as she attempted to run away. He laughed again. This was going to be too easy. So enjoyable. He counted a few seconds, letting her think she might actually get away, allowing her fear to devour her, allowing his thrill to rise. He closed his eyes, letting his senses kick in, adapting to everything around, honing in on Bella's futile sprint.

Within seconds, Edward appeared in front of her. Bella gasped, shock and disbelief written all over her face. "I like my meal on the run…" he said, with that velvet darkness that Bella knew would be the death of her. Before she could blink, Edward had pounced, sinking his teeth ever the slightest into her neck. His tongue swelled with thirst. His head pounded with excitement. He stepped back, taking in all of this girl. She went shock silent when her hand returned from her neck, tainted deep red from the wound. She looked up to Edward, horror struck.

The look on her face, something about it, caused Edward's heart to hurt. _What are you doing?_ Reason was beginning to break through the menace, but not soon enough. Edward leaped again, tackling Bella to the ground. He raised his head to the sky and roared, fierce. He straddled her, lifting the hem of her shirt, and began licking her stomach. "Please," she whispered so low Edward barely even heard it, "please, don't do this. Please…" she was crying.

Edward ignored her, and made a small nibble directly below her belly button. He lapped up the few drips coming from the cuts. He then took his finger (nail), slicing it deeply in a curved line above and to the right of her previous bite. "Please…" her chest was heaving with her sobs and screams, "Please, stop. Please…"

The monster returned his gaze to her face. Edward's heart fell. She looked so innocent and pure and he was going to take her life, suck it out. _Edward. Stop! Look at what you're doing!_ Bella reached her hand out, begging, pleading for him to free her. But he was so hungry. He returned to her neck and began drinking, trying to block out her screams of pain and prayers.

He must have been drinking for a few minutes before he slowed. "Please…" he heard. "Please, I… I'm begging you…" she was whispering. He stopped and looked her in the eye. They were already dimming. How could he have done such a thing?

He immediately stood up, moving to stand a few feet away from the girl curled in terror on the forest floor. The real Edward had returned, the sane one, the humane one. He quickly turned and took off running as fast as his legs could take him. He winced when he heard Bella screaming for help, knowing that she was dying.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

Bella's voice wasn't loud enough. She didn't have any energy. Edward had taken most of her blood. Anything that hadn't been taken was slowly draining from her open wounds. She tried harder, screaming for help, screaming for anyone. Even Edward, just to finish her off. She had always been afraid of a slow, painful death. And here it was, thrust upon her now. Shortly after her voice didn't work anymore, her vision faded over with watery red, and she lost consciousness.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

Edward ran through the forest. When he got to the border, he turned back, listening to hear Bella. He listened closely… waiting to hear something… anything… He caught hold of it. He could hear her heart beat, faintly. He struggled to latch on to it, praying that it would keep going, that maybe there was some hope for her to live, that maybe he hadn't taken as much blood as his body was registering.

A few minutes passed, and he heard it, her last intake of breath… he heard it slowly leak out of her mouth. And that was it. Her heart had stopped, the little bit of blood remaining had stopped its flow.

_What have I done?_

* * *

Author's Note: So how did you like it? There is more to this. This isn't the end. You may think you know what's going to happen next (if you think so, tell me in a review), but I bet you'll be surprised in the upcoming chapters. 

Please review! Thanks so much! 

Sincerely, 

Melantha Nyx 


	3. Wasteland

Disclaimer: Do I really have to say anything here? You should already know, I don't own Twilight/New Moon/Eclipse and the much anticipated Breaking Dawn (!). Yay! Stephenie Meyers does (boo hoo). Just kidding. I love her for her work.

Author's Note: Um. Be reasonable when reading this chapter, please. Haha. Enjoy!

* * *

**The Autumn Effect**

Chapter 3  
Wasteland

.;-'-;.

The boy lay desolate on the hotel room couch. The Hyatt Seattle had been the only hotel with open rooms that didn't need reservations. He shivered, though not cold. His body trembled with his sobs, though he couldn't cry.

Carlisle walked silently over, praying that his son might be feeling better. When he got close enough to the boy, he reached down to grab the television controller in order to shut it off. This action was received with a threatening growl. Edward had been glued to the screen the second they entered the room six days ago.

Esme had agreed that it would be wise to leave Forks as soon as possible. And that if the cops came to question, which they did, that Edward would tell him the exact story that his family had come up with.

----------0----------0----------0----------0----------0----------0----------0----------0----------0----------

It had only been two days since Edward felt like killing himself; since he had killed that innocent girl. Esme, Alice, and Rosalie had stayed at home with him while Carlisle, Emmett, and Jasper went out to find the body. A piece of Carlisle had hoped that the girl was still alive, even if in the middle of the transformation. The three unnaturally beautiful men were met with mystery when they searched the area of the woods that Edward had said he was in. The girl wasn't there. There was no body. There wasn't even the slightest possibility that someone had found her; they had arrived mere minutes after Edward got home.

When they entered the door empty-handed, forlorn looks upon their faces, the miserable boy had gone into a fit of rage; at himself, at the girl, at the monster inside him. He tried to make a fast escape, babbling psychotically about the Volturi being able to take care of him and that this girl was plaguing his mind. His family had stuck him in the lock-tight basement for the next 32 hours.

It was on the second day that he was allowed out, after promising to not go to the Volturi. It was on the second day that the police came.

----------0----------0----------

"Everyone, you know the plan," Carlisle spoke softly, sadly. "Alice, please attend to the door." Alice replied with a hint of a smile. Esme was rubbing soothing circles into Edward's back. Edward would have to play this perfectly for the family to be left out of the investigation. Well, they weren't even supposed to know about the investigation, yet. The police wanted to keep it quite until they got some more information about the missing Isabella Swan.

The murderer took a deep breath, and put on a smile, attempting to make it reach his eyes. Whether or not it was working, he'd soon find out.

Alice entered the living room, "Guys, the police are here." She sounded curious as to why they were in their house, an excellent actress.

Carlisle stood, walking over to greet them. "I'm Carlisle, the doctor from the hospital. May I assist you with something, gentlemen?"

Chief Swan replied weakly, "We'd like to have a word with your son, Edward." Frankson nodded briefly.

"Not a problem," he turned his attention to Edward before continuing, "Edward, could you come here, please?" When his son followed suit, he spoke again. "May I ask what this is about?"

Chief Swan waited a moment before answering. "Yes," he sighed heavily, "My daughter Bella has been missing for the past two and a half days. From questioning a few of the students she had talked to the last day she was at school, someone mentioned that she was supposed to be on a walk with your son. Edward, I need you to lead me through the time you spent with Bella—"

"Wait! What do you mean she's missing, sir? That's impossible," Edward interrupted, sounding disbelieved.

"Please, just tell us what happened."

Edward said 'okay' and began. "After she got out of gym class we headed over to my car. We both agreed that my car would be better and we headed to Fencer's dirt road, you know, the back road that leads to the path through the forest?"

"Yeah, that's just a few miles from my house. Continue," Charlie demanded.

"Half-way there she changed her mind. She said that she had to get home, um…" Edward had closed his eyes, grimacing. _I can't do this_, he whimpered in his mind.

"What's wrong? Edward? What's going on?" Charlie was beginning to sound accusative.

_Come now, Edward. You can do it. I know you feel horrible, we all do. But for the sake of our secret, you have to do this. Things will get better, I promise_, Esme forced her thoughts into Edwards. He agreed. He had to do this, whether or not he wanted to.

"I'm sorry, sir. I'm just trying to make sure I get all the details right, in case it can be helpful." He didn't continue again until the Chief looked convinced. "She changed her mind, saying she wanted to go home. She said something about wanting to make a big dinner for you, sir. I pulled up to your house," he spoke slowly, surely, secretly wishing that this was how it actually happened, "She said 'See you later' and I said 'See you at school tomorrow'." Edward then chuckled. "That's when I sneezed and she smiled, saying 'Maybe you won't. I hope you aren't getting sick.' And then she went into the house."

_Wow. That was a good one. It actually sounded believable_, Emmett thought to himself, forgetting that Edward would hear every word. Edward shot him a glare.

"So you didn't go for the walk?" Charlie questioned.

"No, however, I think on the way back that she mentioned she was thinking about going for a little walk later on that day."

"Mm. About what time was it when you dropped her off?" Frankson asked this time.

"Uh, I'd say about 4, 4:30."

"And why haven't you been in school the past two days?"

"It seems Bella was right when she assumed I was getting sick. I guess I caught a little bug going around," Edward said with a shrug.

"Okay. That's about it for now. We might be back to get more information," Chief Swan said as they were moving towards the door. He opened it, but before he and his partner left, he turned around one last time, "Are you sure, absolutely positive, there's nothing else you can tell us?" The old man was almost pleading with Edward, begging that Edward knew where his daughter was.

Edward shook his head, gloomily, "I'm sorry. I don't."

The Chief nodded and sighed.

"Wait one moment, please," Carlisle stated after ushering Edward back into the room with the rest of his family. When he returned, he finished what he started, "What exactly has happened, if I may intrude."

"When I got home Monday night, the house was wrecked. Vases were thrown about, pictures, chairs knocked over, everything was messed. The thing is, there were no prints other than mine on most of those things, so Bella couldn't have done it. I don't think she would have thought about trashing her own house, making sure she was wearing gloves to not leave prints, and then disappear. Plus the lock on my door was busted. We're almost positive that there was a break-in, but we have no solid proof," Charlie finished with a sigh.

Carlisle was looking pensive. "Could she be with her mother?"

"I don't know. I've been trying to call Renee several times every day, but no pick up. It could be possible that she's on another one of her fiancé's baseball trips, but I don't know," his shoulders sagged in sorrow, "I just don't know. This isn't like Bella, to run away. I hate to think that something's happened to her." He frowned.

"I'm terribly sorry. Please let us know if we can do anything, and please let us know if you find anything." Carlisle said comfortingly. "Is it alright if we leave for Seattle in a couple of days? My wife and I had planned on a little trip with our family, just to get out and about for a week or so."

"Yeah. No problem, just leave us your hotel number and address so that if it's necessary, we can contact you."

"I will. Good evening."

----------0----------

And with that, the two cops left for their vehicle. Frankson whispered, "So then there is a chance that she's in the woods. I still think we should send out a search party. "

"I agree, Jim. But whatever we do, let's keep it quiet. Hopefully, if she's out there, we find her soon. I…" he faltered in his voice, "I don't know how many more hours I can take."

Jim patted his friend on the back, "Don't worry. We'll find her soon."

----------0----------

"Their house was trashed?" Carlisle asked suspiciously?

Jasper replied quietly, "Alice called us after she saw us finding nothing. She said that if their house was trashed, it would throw the cops off of us." Alice responded with an 'I did'.

The room fell into silence when they realized that Edward wasn't there. Alice sprinted up to his room, the door slightly ajar. He was sobbing again. She moved quickly to his side, embracing him in a hug. "Edward, I'm so sorry. I don't even know what to do for you."

"Kill me, please," he looked up at her with pained eyes. "Please, I beg you, kill me. I can't stand living anymore. What am I talking about? I'm not even living! I'm not human! I'm a monster, Alice! I killed her! I killed her!" His words had become incoherent.

Jasper tried thrusting calmness upon him, but it didn't work. Jasper was getting depressed from Edward. The whole family suddenly looked like someone had died. Then again, someone had, and at the hands of one of their own.

"Edward, please. Be sane about this. Everyone slips up, Edward. It's okay. Thing will get better. Everything's going to be okay." Alice convinced Edward enough to settle him, but not herself.

Her visions had been shaky when she tried 'seeing' this girl. They were too blurry to decipher. But one thing she had retrieved clearly was the ominous doom she felt. That was indubitable.

----------0----------0----------0----------0----------0----------0----------0----------0----------0----------

Every night at 6:00, the evening news would return with another segment on "The Missing Swan." No one was allowed to talk, to move. Edward was centered on every word said in that 15 minute clip.

This night marked the 14th day of the search. Yesterday informed the viewers that Isabella was definitely not with her mother. They even played an excerpt from the phone call she had with Chief Swan on the television. Esme thought it a bit unreasonable to display it so openly, with the possibility of little children hearing it. Renee had broken down in loud sobs, and then began yelling obscenities at Charlie for letting her out of his sight, letting her disappear in the first week she was there. The conversation ended with her continued sobbing.

For the past 13 days, crew after crew had gone into the woods all around Forks, searching every inch for the 17 year old girl. There were no leads, no footprints, nothing.

That's all the search had produced: nothing.

The evening news began as any other. However, this time, they were actually filming live at the Chief's house. They were waiting with Charlie. The search crew that went out four hours ago to recheck the area surrounding his house was supposed to be returning.

Edward was coming back from his zoning, listening intently on Charlie's interview.

"_I just, I hadn't seen her in years. I had missed her so much," he hardly finished before turning away from the camera for a moment. _

"_Chief Swan, can you continue?" The interviewee asked sympathetically. He sniffled a few times before returning._

"_I already lost her mom, and I just got my daughter back. I can't lose her again. I don't think I could make it. I love her so much," he finished before walking away, a few stray tears running down his cheek._

_Ms. Plirrai focused back on the camera man, almost regrettably, "And you've heard it live, folks. We will return in a few minutes. Please stay tuned."_

The room stayed silent while commercials blurred through the screen. Edward couldn't focus. Not only had he killed a girl, he had ruined her whole family, the whole town of Forks. In the screen shot, there had been several families from nearby, even some fellow students standing around, waiting in anticipation for the arrival of the search team.

Edward's inner ear was reeling with everyone's thoughts. He couldn't take it anymore. "God! Just say it out loud, why don't you?! I ruined it! I ruined everything!" He continued in agony, "Please, just get rid of me. She won't go away. She won't…" Carlisle and Esme quickly joined him, trying to offer soothing words of comfort, of sympathy. It was no use. Even Jasper's power, again, wouldn't work. It all seemed useless.

Everyone's eyes converged on the screen as the news came back on.

"_Here we are, ladies and gentleman, at the residence of Chief Swan, father to Isabella Marie Swan, the 17 year-old who's been missing for the past 14 days. If you've been following our trek over the past two weeks, you'll remember that no leads have been found as to where this girl may be. We've spoken with the girl's mother for a few brief minutes during the break and –"_

She was interrupted as the camera changed views to the clearing in front of the line of trees. Several men were emerging, and immediately the picture zoomed in on their faces. That alone spoke the words no one wanted to say. There was still no body. No hope. However, it was even worse than everyone expected.

But still, Sherry Plirrai wanted to hear anything they might have to say.

"_Excuse me, sir! Sir! May I have a word?" She pushed herself through the small crowd gathering around them. "What news have you?" _

_Chief Swan interrupted before anyone could speak. "Did you find her? Did you find my little girl?" He was pleading for information._

_The shortest man in the group spoke for them all, "I'm sorry, Chief." He was quiet, disappointed. He pulled around a see-through plastic bag. Everyone around gasped when he pulled out its contents. There were shredded clothes in there, blood dried and caked. "This was all we found. I don't know how we missed it the first time." _

_Charlie couldn't speak for a moment, neither could the reporter. Charlie went into hysterics at realizing these were Bella's clothes, the ones she had worn the first and last day she went to school. "That can't be! No! No! She must be in there! She must! She's alive I know it! I know it! Please, let's just go back out again. I know we'll find her!" He had been praying this wouldn't happen, the point in time when the search members realized that they had searched every where at least twice, and nothing. They knew she wasn't there. This new find only emphasized the point that she must have been ravaged by a wild beast. Charlie didn't want to believe it. He was going into another rant when the leader spoke up again_

"_I'm very sorry, Charlie," he whispered. He then turned to the camera. "As of now, I am calling the search off. We are going to sample the clothes for blood matching. However, I," he sighed heavily, "as the leader of this search, am also proclaiming Isabella Marie Swan, dead, as of now." The reporters standing around all jumped into a frenzy of flying questions. He rose his hand in command, "That is all we have to say for now. I'm sorry." _

_The camera changed views, this time to the shocked face of the missing girl's father. He fell to his knees with heavy sobs. _

Alice then froze, eyes glazed over, body going into spasms as the vision passed through her closed eyelids. A few seconds later she awoke with a gasp of a word, "No…" Edward's eyes focused back to the screen where the camera revealed Charlie reaching for something on his belt. He subconsciously closed his eyes, knowing what was going to happen, with no one there to stop it. And then it happened. The loud 'bang' echoed through the speakers, as it did with every other television set that was tuned in to this channel. There was no breathing in the room, complete and utter silence, deafeningly calm.

Edward peeled his eyes open, only to see the picture on the screen shaking. But it wasn't his television, no, it was the camera man, obviously shaken from what had just happened. Shock had enveloped all, at home, at the scene.

"_Um… Um…" The news reporter struggled for the right words to say, "Ladies and gentlem… gentlemen. Chief Swan has just… has just… shot himself."_

And with that, Edward quickly shut off the television, whipping the controller at the screen, not caring that it broke both, and erupted into more sobbing.

"What have I done?" He whispered in a breath.

The memory of seeing Charlie's body, face down, blood pouring out his right temple, would forever burn Edward. Just like the snapshot of seeing that poor girl, innocent, beautiful, pitiable girl, lying on the ground, crumpled in pain, after having drunken her blood. These memories would forever burn his mind.

Esme recovered, and stood, "No more news. That was quite enough. I believe we should be leaving, Carlisle?" She nodded over to her husband.

"Yes, we need to pack and head out. Alice, find a place, please," he sighed in distress at the situation.

"Okay," Alice replied.

Edward was wallowing in his misery again. Everyone was thinking he would get over it sooner or later. Everyone had made mistakes. But they were wrong, and Edward knew it.

.;-'-;. .;-'-;. .;-'-;.

Her limbs ached for a reason she didn't know. The ground was moist beneath her. She tried opening her eyes, but couldn't. She suddenly realized something was wrong. Finally, she took in a deep breath, and gasped…

* * *

Author's Note: **Please review** and let me know what you think. 

Ack. I know you're probably thinking, 'Why on Earth would Charlie kill himself?' And yes, I wonder that too. But in my head, that's what the narrator said happened, so it happened. Sorry. Besides, if you think about it, he had said that he wouldn't be able to stand losing her again. He just meant it very seriously. He figured he had nothing left to live for. He was in shock and depression. He had just seen his daughter's clothing ripped to shreds with blood all over it, come on now. Of course he's going to be irrational.

And of course, I leave you with a cliffhanger. Well not a very good one, but hopefully enough of one to make you review and come back for chapter 4, which has a totally wicked twist. I love it so much. I feel bad for some characters, but I love it! Mwahaha.

As always,  
Melantha Nyx

P.S.  
For those of you who read my other story, Shattered, I hope to have it updated by the end of this coming weekend. I know I was supposed to have it done this past weekend, but a ton of things came up. I have work again tomorrow and Friday night. I'm swamped. But I want to write it! So have some faith in me. I will finish it. Grazi.


End file.
